Hopper gate outlet assembly

ABSTRACT

A horizontally movable carriage effects movement of a horizontal gate between open and closed positions relative to the discharge opening of a hopper outlet assembly. Between the carriage and the gate are cooperating force transmitting and reaction means. Upon movement of the carriage in one direction, the gate is first moved horizontally beneath the discharge opening and then raised to seal the opening. Upon movement of the carriage in the other direction, the gate is first lowered and then moved horizontally away from the position beneath the discharge opening.

United States Patent 9 Martin etal;

- 1111 3,826,203- [451 July 30, 1974 HOPPER GATE OUTLET ASSEMBLY Dorey 1051282 A 3,l3 8,l l6 6/1964 1 Byron Martin, Kankakee; 2:283:52? 2333 52121111111113: A William Gibson South Holland, 7 3,706,287 12/1972 Fritz et al 105/282 R both of ill. v v [73] Assignee: Miner Enterprises, Inc, Chicago, 111. Primary Examiner-M. Henson Wood, Jr. [22] H N 6 1972 Assistant Examiner-Howard Beltran Attorney, Agent, or Firm-Johnson, Dienner, Emrich, [21] Appl. No.: 303,795 Verbeck & Wagner [52] US. Cl....; 105/282 P, 105/305, 105/310, [57] ABSTRACT 105/424 A horizontally movable carriage effects movement of [51] 3'' Cl 3 m 7/02 861d 7/20 361d 7/26 a horizontal gate between open and closed positions [58] F' Search 05/282 282 282 relative to the discharge opening'of a hopper outlet 105/ 305 t 424 assembly. Between the carriage and the gate are coopa crating force transmitting and reaction means. Upon [56] References Cned movement of the carriage in one direction, the gate is UNITED STATES PATENTS first moved horizontally beneath the discharge open- 1,71s.307 5/1929 Porter 105/282 P i g and then raised to seal the opening. Upon move- 2,145,173 1/1939 ment of the carriage in the otherdirection, the gate is 2,l45,l74 H1939 first lowered and then moved horizontally away from 2,989,931 6/1961 the position beneath the discharge opening. 3,106,899 l0/l963 3,127,852 4/1964 5 Claims, 8 Drawing Figures 'r-------rm='-'- 42 l l E I i; 1 30, 1 l 1 s I. 1 1-- 1 t i I i 1 E: l l l I 1} 1l 1 5 l 1' i l I: I

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HOPPER GATE OUTLET ASSEMBLY FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present'i'nvention relates generally to a hopper outlet assembly which is adapted for use, for example, in connection with railroad hopper cars, and more particularly to a hopper outlet assembly including a carriage for moving a gate between a closed sealed position and an open position.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The hopper outletassembly of the present invention includes a generally horizontally disposed main frame, and a secondary frame secured to the main frame. The secondary frame presents a generally horizontally lower border which defines the perimeter of a discharge opening through which lading can flow by gravity. A horizontal gate, with reaction means thereon, is movable vertically and horizontally between open and closed positions relative to the discharge opening. The

. gate is supported on, andthe reaction means cooper- 'out of engagement with the border and then to move the gate horizontally away from the position beneath the border.

The sequential and separate horizontal and vertical movement of the gate by the carriage provides several advantages: in closure, a positive compressive seal is attained by the raising action; in opening, relief of commodity pressure on the gate is realized by. the lowering action. Additionally, the gate is supported on rollers mounted on the carriage, and the carriage is supported on rollers mounted on the main frame. As a consequence of the roller supports, galling and sliding friction are eliminated, and the force required to open the gate is reduced.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of a hopper outlet assembly incorporating the principles of the present invention, with the movable gate being shown in closed position;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view, taken substantially along the line 2-2 in FIG.'1, looking in the direction indicated by the-arrows;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view, taken substantially along the line 3-3 in FIG. 1, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

FIGS. 4, 5 and 6 are views similar to FIG. 3, but show the movable gate and associated carriage in different operatingpositions; v

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view, taken substantially along the line 7-7 in FIG. 6, looking in the direction indicated by the arrows; and I FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view of a modification incorporating resilient seal means.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring now to FIG. 1, there is indicated generally by the reference numeral 10 a hopper outlet assembly incorporating the principles of the present invention. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the hopper outlet assembly 10 is adapted to be arranged at the lower end of the hopper, for example, of a railroad hopper car which may be ofeither the side pocket type or the centerflow type.

Te hopper outlet assembly 10, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, is comprised of a generally horizontally disposed rectangular main frame 12 having a front end frame member 14, a rear end frame member 16, and side frame members 18 and 20. Secured to the main frame 12 is a secondary frame 22 having side walls 24 and 26 and end walls 28'and 30. These wall members are adapted to be suitably secured, as by welding, to the lower portion of a hopper, and present a generally horizontal lower lip or border 32 which defines the perimeter of a discharge opening through which Iading can flow by gravity from the hopper.

Movable between open and closed positions relative to the discharge opening is a horizontal gate 34 which, in'a manner to be presently described, is supported on and moved by an underlying horizontally movable carriage 36. The carriage 36, in turn, is supported for movement on a plurality of rollers 38 rotatablymounted about horizontal axes on the inboard sides of the side frame members 18 and 20. Means'for moving the carriage 36 comprises a pairof lengthwise inverted rack members 40 secured to the underside of the carriage 36 adjacent the sides thereof. The rack members 40 have meshing engagement with pinions 42 secured on an operating shaft 44 rotatably mounted in the side frame members 18 and 20 transversely of the path of movement of the carriage 36 and the gate 34.

The gate 34 is supported on rollers 46 rotatably mounted about horizontal axes at the sides of the carriage 36. The rollers 46 accommodate limited relative movement between the gate 34 and the carriage 36, and also serve as force transmitting means. Arranged for cooperation with the rollers 46 are reaction means comprised of first reaction members in the form of wedge-like plate members 48 secured to the underside of the gate 34 and having bearing surfaces 50 and inclined or ramp ends 52, and at least one second reaction member in the form of a lug member 54 secured to the underside of the gate 34 and spaced rearwardly of one of the plate members 48. The front end frame 14 serves as stop means for limiting forward movement of the gate 34, and at least one stop member 56 is secured to the underside of the gate 34 at the forward end of one'of the plate members 48 and is engageable by one of the rollers 46 for limiting forward movement of the carriage 36 relative to the gate 34 when forward movement of the latter has beenstopped.

When the gate 34 is positioned across the discharge opening of the secondary frame 22, as shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the discharge opening is closed thereby for retaining lading within the associated hopper. The gate 34 is held under compression in closed position in positive metal-to-metal sealing engagement with the border 32 of the secondary frame 22 by the carriage rollers 46 which are engaged with the bearing surfaces 50 of the plate members 48.

When it is desired to discharge lading through the discharge opening in the secondary frame 22, the operating shaft 44 is rotated clockwise as viewed in FIG. 3. Such rotation of the shaft 44 effects concurrent rotation of the pinions 42 which, in turn, move the rack members 40 and the carriage 36 rearwardly or to the right as viewed in FIG. 3. Initially, the carriage 36 moves relative to the gate 34 from the position shown in FIG. 3 to the position shown in FIG. 4. During this relative movement, the carriage rollers 46 roll off of the bearing surfaces 50 and the inclined ends 52 of the plate members 48, and the gate 34 is permitted to move vertically downwardly out of engagement with the border 32. Lowering of the gate 34 in the manner described serves to relieve the pressure of commodity within the hopper acting on the gate 34. Upon further movement of the carriage 36, the carriage roller 46 adjacent the lug member 54 engages the same whereupon the gate 34 is moved conjointly with the carriage 36 rearwardly or to the right from the position shown in FIG. 4 towards a horizontal open position.

To return the gate 34 to closed position, the operating shaft 44 is rotated counterclockwise as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. Such rotation of shaft 44 effects concurrent rotation of the pinions 42 which, in turn, move the rack members 40 and the carriage 36 forwardly or to the left as viewed in FIG. 5. The carriage rollers 46 engaged with the inclined ends 52 of the plate members 48 serve to effect conjoint horizontal movement of the gate 34 with the carriage 36.When the leading edge of the gate 34 abuts and is stopped by the front end frame member 14, the carriage 36 continues to move relative to the gate 34 from the solid line position to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 6. During this relative movement, the carriage rollers 46 roll overthe inclined ends 52 onto the bearing surfaces 50 of the plate members 48, and the gate 34 is thereby moved vertically upwardly, from the solid line position to the dotted line position shown in FIG. 6, into engagement with the border 32 of the secondary frame 22, whereupon the gate 34 is again disposed in a fully closed position. Raising of the gate 34 in the manner described serves to effect a positive compressive seal between the gate 34 and the border 32.

In a modified embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, a resilient seal strip 58 is disposed about the secondary frame 22 adjacent the border 32 thereof. When the gate 34 is moved vertically, from the solid line position to the dotted line position, into metal-to-metal sealing engagement with the border 32, the seal strip 58 is compressed and effects resilient sealing engagement, and thereby a liquid-type seal, with the gate 34.

While there has been shown and described preferred embodiments of the present invention, it will be under stood by those skilled in the art that various rearrangements and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a hopper outlet assembly, the combination of a generally horizontally disposed main frame, a secondary frame secured to said main frame and presenting a generally horizontal lower border which defines the perimeter of a discharge opening through which lading can flow'by gravity,'a horizontal gate movable between open and closed positions relative to said discharge opening, said main frame including a front end member presenting a stop surface which is normal to the plane of said border and which is engageable by the leading edge of said gate, a horizontally movable carriage underlying said gate, roller means supporting said carriageand gate therewith on said main frame, means for moving said carriage and gate therewith horizontally, rollers rotatably mounted on said carriage and supporting said gate, plate members secured to the underside of said gate and having horizontal bearing surfaces and inclined ends, said rollers upon movement of said carriage in one direction engage said inclined ends to move said gate horizontally until said leading edge of said gate abuts said stop surface and said gate is positioned beneath said border, said rollers upon further movement of said carriage in said one direction roll over said inclined ends onto said horizontal bearing surfaces to move said gate vertically upwardly into sealing engagement with said border, said rollers upon initial movement of said carriage in the other direction roll off of said bearing surfaces and said inclined ends to permit said gate to move vertically downwardly out of engagement with said border, at least one reaction member secured to the underside of said gate, and one of said rollers upon subsequent movement of said carriage in said other direction engages said reaction member to move said gate horizontally away from said position beneath said border.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means supporting said carriage comprises rollers rotatably mounted on said main frame.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said means for moving said carriage comprises rack means secured to said carriage, an operating shaft rotatably mounted in said main frame transversely of the path of movement of said carriage and said gate, and pinion means on said operating shaft and having meshing engagement with said rack means. 4. The combination of claim 3 including resilient seal means extending about said secondary frame adjacent said border thereof for effecting resilient sealing engagement with said gate when the latter is in sealing engagement with said border.

5. The combination of claim 1 including resilient seal means extending about said secondary frame adjacent said border thereof for effecting resilient sealing engagement with said gate when the latter is in sealing engagement with said border.

F iii 4' i 

1. In a hopper outlet assembly, the combination of a generally horizontally disposed main frame, a secondary frame secured to said main frame and presenting a generally horizontal lower border which defines the perimeter of a discharge opening through which lading can flow by gravity, a horizontal gate movable between open and closed positions relative to said discharge opening, said main frame including a front end member presenting a stop surface which is normal to the plane of said border and which is engageable by the leading edge of said gate, a horizontally movable carriage underlying said gate, roller means supporting said carriage and gate therewith on said main frame, means for moving said carriage and gate therewith horizontally, rollers rotatably mounted on said carriage and supporting said gate, plate members secured to the underside of said gate and having horizontal bearing surfaces and inclined ends, said rollers upon movement of said carriage in one direction engage said inclined ends to move said gate horizontally until said leading edge of said gate abuts said stop surface and said gate is positioned bEneath said border, said rollers upon further movement of said carriage in said one direction roll over said inclined ends onto said horizontal bearing surfaces to move said gate vertically upwardly into sealing engagement with said border, said rollers upon initial movement of said carriage in the other direction roll off of said bearing surfaces and said inclined ends to permit said gate to move vertically downwardly out of engagement with said border, at least one reaction member secured to the underside of said gate, and one of said rollers upon subsequent movement of said carriage in said other direction engages said reaction member to move said gate horizontally away from said position beneath said border.
 2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said means supporting said carriage comprises rollers rotatably mounted on said main frame.
 3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said means for moving said carriage comprises rack means secured to said carriage, an operating shaft rotatably mounted in said main frame transversely of the path of movement of said carriage and said gate, and pinion means on said operating shaft and having meshing engagement with said rack means.
 4. The combination of claim 3 including resilient seal means extending about said secondary frame adjacent said border thereof for effecting resilient sealing engagement with said gate when the latter is in sealing engagement with said border.
 5. The combination of claim 1 including resilient seal means extending about said secondary frame adjacent said border thereof for effecting resilient sealing engagement with said gate when the latter is in sealing engagement with said border. 